


Mistaken

by MisfitWriter



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck whump, F/M, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-08 20:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14701791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisfitWriter/pseuds/MisfitWriter
Summary: Set after Abby returns from Ireland.  Buck is making a coffee run for the station, and is mistaken for a police officer by a man out for revenge.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is me, in complete and utter denial of the fact that Connie Britton is not coming back as a regular for Season 2. I don't know how they're going to deal with Abby x Buck in light of this, and that has me a little worried. So, in true *me* fashion, I've gotta make up my own version of what their future looks like, including beating up a little bit on my favorite boy.

“Thanks, ladies! I’m sure I’ll be back same time tomorrow!”  Buck waved with his free hand to the baristas as he nudged the door open with his hip, charming smile on his face.  The three women behind the counter waved back as he turned.

“See ya Buckley! Tell the crew we say hey.”

The blonde fireman kept the tray of coffees balanced in one hand as he lowered his sunglasses onto his nose.  Warmth seeped into his skin, the sun soaking into his dark uniform and making him grateful for the clear skies.  While staying tucked away in Abby’s apartment to get reacquainted after nearly three months with half a world between them (followed by two weeks of opposing schedules until Abby could finally get back into her routine at work) as rain pummelled the window was  _ lovely _ , Buck was looking forward to taking her out for a day on the lake.

He was jarred from his thoughts when a solid form crashed into him from the side, flipping the coffee out of his grasp and sending him sprawling into an alley.  Before he could regain his bearings, weight settled onto his hips and sharp, burning agony stole his breath away. “Gimme your gun,  _ pig _ ,” a low voice growled in his ear.  Buck groaned, the fog of pain slowing his thoughts and in turn his response.  “Now!” Trembling hands scrabbled with the gray sleeve at his attacker’s wrist, and the firefighter couldn’t suppress the yelp when the knife was yanked back out.  The pressure on his hips disappeared, and his radio was yanked from his shoulder. From there, the man’s free hand searched his pockets, easily finding his cell phone and wallet.  _ Dammit _ .

“D-Don’t have...a gun...not a...cop…”

The second time the blade cut into his abdomen, he managed to stifle any noise.  “That badge and your pretty blue uniform look an awful lot like you a cop.” Wild brown eyes searched for any source of threat, and pained blue eyes fought to catalogue the man’s visible features

“F-firefighter,” Buck breathed, pain pulsing in time with his heart.  A shadow fell across his face as his attacker leaned over to get a better look at the badge on his chest, and the man cursed.

Evan Buckley barely had time to register the white and blue sneaker swinging for his head before it connected with his temple and darkness crashed over his consciousness.

* * *

“There’s a cop down in an alley, it looks like he was shot or stabbed in the side...he’s unconscious.”  Awareness returned to Buck in the form of sharp pain and something shaking him. Memories of the attack that took him out of commission surfaced, and he would have lashed out defensively if not for the gentle grip on his wrist.  “Easy, man...easy. I’m here to help, I’m on with 9-1-1. Just lay still, I think you’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“9-1-1?” As though the reference to dispatch flipped a switch in his brain, adrenaline seemed to flood his system.  Buck looked up to the guy leaning over him and reached for the phone. “Can I?”

“A-are you sure you’re up for it, man? You don’t look so good.”  Buck nodded tiredly, so the man relented, switching on the speakerphone and setting it on the ground beside Buck’s head. “Here, go ahead…” The fireman winced when the man started unbuttoning his blouse.  

_ “Has the officer regained consciousness?”  _ Relief flooded Buck at the familiar voice, and he sagged back against the ground. One step eliminated, which was good since he wasn’t sure how long the adrenaline would hold up.  _ “Mr. Adams are you still there?”   _

“What’s up...with everyone calling me a  _ cop _ today?”

Buck could picture the stunned face of his girlfriend as she processed what was going on.   _ “Buck? Please tell me you stumbled across the scene and are not my victim... _ ”

“Abbs, I need you to send out an APB-” An involuntary hiss escaped him when his undershirt was carefully pulled up and away from his wounds.

_ “I need you to tell me what happened and where you are.” _ He hated being responsible for the fear in her voice, but he had to get the warning out...

“Abbs, Abby...I need you to listen...there’s a white male, 6 foot wearing blue and white nikes...navy blue hoodie and dark jeans...tattoo...a-ace of spades...on his neck...looking to kill cops.  He saw my uniform and assumed…” Exhaustion threatened to pull him back under, but he steeled his resolve. “You’ve gotta put a warning out. This guy’s out for blood, and pretty ballsy...he got me three blocks north of the station.  Broad daylight,” he breathed weakly. Steady hands pressed against his side, and Buck cursed himself for groaning.

When Abby spoke again, her voice wavered.   _ “The APB is out...and your squad-” _

The mention of his team gave him another surge of adrenaline, fear overpowering his desire to rest.  “Wait! I don’t know how long I was out, or where this asshole went...could still be around, waiting for backup to get here.  Don’t dispatch-”

_ “I’m not going to let you be a martyr right now, Fireman Buckley. PD has already been informed and your squad knows to be careful.  All you need to worry about is not bleeding out before they get there, do you understand me?” _

A breath of laughter escaped him, and he prayed she couldn’t hear the fresh wave of pain it triggered.  “Uh oh, you used my full name. I’m...in trouble.” His job finished, Buck finally allowed himself to sink into the peaceful cushion of darkness, where he could hardly feel the tremors of cold under his skin, or the pressure that his rescuer was applying to stem the bloodflow.

_ “You will be if you don’t hang on.  Your team’s almost there.” _  She was always taking care of him…

“Yeah...I hear the house siren.  Thanks, Abbs…” Even though he could hear both Abby at his rescuer trying to get his attention, the fireman couldn’t cling to consciousness anymore.

* * *

Horror seized the breath in Abby’s lungs as the other end of her line fell silent for an agonizing moment. “Buck?! Buck!  _ Evan!”  _ As she listened to rustling, the dispatcher fought to shove down her panic.  As awful as their first date had been, she’d go back to that day in an instant if it meant that she were right beside Buck and not on the other end of a damn phone call, possibly listening to his death.

“ _ A-Abby? _ ” The timid voice snapped her out of her spiral.  “ _ It’s Mark, um...he’s passed out, what do I do now?  I can hear the siren but it doesn’t sound close enough. _ ”  

“Feel his neck under his jaw with your first two fingers, is there a pulse?”  It took everything she had to pretend that she was talking this stranger through saving the life of another complete stranger, and not -

“ _ Yes, but it’s pretty fast.  So is his breathing...and his skin’s clammy _ .”  In line with hypovolemic shock.   _ Hurry, Captain Nash… _

“Can you see the wound?” 

“ _ Yeah, I’m putting pressure on it right now _ .” 

“Good...good.  Has the bleeding slowed at all?”  _ Just keep it together until the others get there...keep it together, Clarke, Buck’s life is counting on it. _

“ _ Yeah...a little.  I...I think the ambulance is close.  Should I go wave them down _ ?”

The thought of Buck being left even for the moment had Abby snapping out “ _ No _ !” She waited until he gave a soft noise of understanding to continue.  “Stay with him, keep up the pressure until they make it to you and give you direction from there.” Muffled thuds carried across the line, and garbled voices came through.  Mark was clearly turned away from the phone, voice somewhat distant as he called out to the first responders. Tears of relief threatened to fall as the tense, worried voices of Nash, Hen and Chimney finally became clear.  “Mark?”

“ _ Y-yeah _ ?” 

“Thank you.  What you did will...probably save his life.”  Fear left her stumbling over her words, and Abby clenched her shaking hand into a fist.   _ It  _ will _ save his life, _ she insisted to herself.

“ _ I hope so _ .”  

She barely registered the goodbye before the line went dead, and the dam holding back her emotions shattered.  Fingers curled gently over her shoulder, and Abby turned to her fellow dispatcher, Stephanie, with a hand over her mouth to smother her sob.  

“He’s in good hands now, Abby, why don’t you sign off and wait to find out what hospital they’re taking him to?”  The redhead nodded, fingers mindlessly going through the motions of logging out as she prayed that Buck would be okay now that his team was with him.  As soon as she finished, Stephanie nudged her towards the break room to wait anxiously for a text from one of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Bobby Nash had come across many gruesome sights, responded to calls for his own friends more than once...but nothing prepared him for the wall of emotion when he came upon the sight of Buck lying unconscious in a pool of blood.  Never had he responded to the vicious attack of a friend...a young man he’d taken under his wing and watched grow and mature as both firefighter and person. When he’d responded for Chim or Wally, he’d been responding to accidents...but this...this was  _ personal _ .  The would-be Navy SEAL who chose to walk away rather than commit to taking lives had been the victim of a man’s vendetta against police...and in that moment the world didn’t seem to make sense.  To think...Abby of all people had been the one to take the call...

He hadn’t realized that he’d stopped walking until Hen’s hand squeezed his bicep.  “I know, Bobby...but Buck needs us right now. Everything else can wait.” Bobby nodded, and together the trio moved into the alley and allowed their training to take over.  Chimney knelt beside their good samaritan, efficiently taking over for the man as Hen immediately began taking vitals and prepping an IV. 

Bobby tugged Mark back by the shoulder, ensuring his team had enough room to work.  “My name is Captain Nash, and we are going to take things from here. Thank you for your efforts.  The police will likely obtain your information from the dispatch report and contact you for questioning, so please keep your phone nearby.”  The man nodded and held his hand out to the fireman. Bobby took it firmly, along with a steadying breath. “Truly...thank you.” 

Without further hesitation, he turned and knelt beside Hen and watched as Chim finally drew back the jacket that had been used as a makeshift bandage. Two distinct stab wounds continued to bleed sluggishly, and Bobby had to fight back a wave of nausea.  “Bleeding has slowed at least, Cap...as soon as the line is in and I finish with the patch we need to get him out of here.” Bobby nodded, pulling supplies from the bag and passing them to his team as needed.

A soft groan caught everyone’s attention, and dazed blue eyes blinked up at them.  “H-hey guys…”

Hen quickly taped down the IV needle and reached down with her free hand to brush some sweat away from his face.  “Hey Buck, whose boyfriend did you piss off this time?” she teased lightly, giving the saline bag a gentle squeeze.

“Whoever he was...was a mean bastard…”  Chim pressed the gauze into place, and Buck paled even further.  “Is...is Abby still on the line?”

“No,” Bobby murmured after confirming Mark was gone.  “Do you want me to call her back? We’re gonna have you out of here in a minute-”

“Don’t call her,” Buck gasped.  He weakly grasped for Bobby’s wrist, and only settled when the older man gripped his hand.  “I...I don’t want her to hear this...if things don’t...end so well.”

“ _ Hey _ ,” Chimney chided, taping up the last side of the bandage.  “You’re too stubborn to let some asshole take you out like this, you hear me?  This is not that blaze of glory you were talking about, and I for one don’t want to go out with you when your fierce dispatcher takes her wrath out on us for letting you go.  Do you really hate us that much?”

Buck gave a weak laugh, and then grimaced and curled towards his team in a desperate attempt to ease the pain.  “O-okay, Chim...I’ll tough it out...for your sake…”

“Damn straight, cowboy.”  Tears thickened Hen’s voice, and Bobby nodded to the backboard wordlessly.  “Okay, Buck, we’re gonna move you now, so just keep breathing and remember that promise, you hear me?”  Buck nodded. His body visibly tensed as the team eased the board under him. The only noise of pain he allowed was a low grunt, and Hen leaned over to draw his gaze.  “It’s only us here, you don’t need to be strong right now, okay? We’ve got you.”

“Okay we move him to the stretcher on my count.  One, two, three,” Bobby directed, knowing that they would obey seamlessly.  Buck winced and took a slow breath through his nose. “Chim, take us to CSMC.  Hen, stay with Buck and keep up with that IV. I’m going to call Abby on the way over.  Easy into the rig,” he murmured, knowing full well everyone was as invested in easing Buck’s pain as him, but using the routine to keep himself grounded anyway.

As soon as the stretcher was secured in the back of the ambulance, Chim took off for the hospital.  Hen made sure Buck’s IV was secure and ran through his vitals, visibly fighting to keep her attention on the task.  “You still with us, cowboy?”

Buck nodded before a shiver wracked his body.  “C-cold…” Hen looked around for a blanket, but Bobby knew there wouldn’t be anything that would keep him warm enough to be comfortable.  “It’s okay, Hen...I know it wouldn’t help. Besides...doesn’t really hurt anymore.” He looked over at Bobby, who was preparing to dial Abby’s number.  “I uh...I’m scared.” Tears filled his eyes. “I’m not ready to die...I’m finally someone I...respect. Thanks to you guys.” As he spoke, exhaustion seeped into the lines of his face and the corners of his eyes, and a fresh wave of fear rolled in.  

“Buck-”

“No, Bobby, please...let me get this out.”  At Hen’s gentle nudging, he straightened his arm so that she could switch out the saline bags. “You guys helped me grow up so much...since I started...helped me be a better man for Abby.  If, uh...if I don’t get through this...make sure she’s okay?”

“Evan Buckley you are going to be  _ just fine _ , and you’ll be taking care of your fierce dispatcher all on your own, you hear me?  We’re almost there, and I know you’re tired and cold, but you need to  _ hold on _ . Look at me, Buck.”  Bobby watched as their youngest teammate sluggishly complied.  “You’re not allowed to run out on us like this. You know you’re our only source of entertainment, pretty boy.  No resting just yet.” She cradled his face with her free hand. “Not until we know you’ll be coming back to us.”

“Yes ma’am…”

Not trusting his voice if he were to call Abby, Bobby decided a text would be safer.   _ On our way to CSMC.  Confirmed two stab wounds to the abdomen, severe blood loss.  He’s disoriented and not feeling much, but able to stay awake for now which is positive.  We’ll know more once we get him to the doctors, but I think he’s going to need you there no matter what.  If you’re not up for driving I’ll send for an Uber. _

The response came in moments later.  _ No, I’m on my way.  Tell him I said he owes me an apology for how our last conversation ended, and via text won’t cut it.  Take care of him, Bobby...please. _

_ Always, _ Bobby responded before tucking his phone away.  He then returned his focus to their victim...their  _ friend _ ...and offered a hand for Buck to squeeze.  The question in Buck’s eyes was clear. “She’s going to meet us there, and says that you owe her an apology for how your last conversation left off, so no ducking out early, got it?”  He got a weak smile in return.

“Pulling in to the ER,” Chim announced.  Bobby and Hen prepared Buck for the ER crew to take over, and allowed them to do so as soon as the ambulance doors opened.  It took everything Bobby had to force himself to let go of Buck’s hand as he listened to Hen rattle off the information they had.  The nearest doctor nodded to Bobby as they eased Buck out of the rig.

“We’ll treat him like one of our own, Captain.  Someone will be out soon to update you.”

Hen’s trembling hand settled on Bobby’s shoulder as they watched Buck disappear behind the glass doors.  “I...Bobby…” The Captain pulled the doors shut silently, allowing Chim to park the rig out of the way, and all three clambered out together, finally allowing shock to sink in.  “Did that really just happen?”

“He’s going to be fine…” Chim murmured numbly.  Bobby sent up a prayer that the paramedic was right.  Their little family had certainly stretched to allow Buck in when the cocky young hero had first come aboard...but now? Looking at the other two, it was clear that family would never be the same if he didn’t pull through.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy so far...this won't be very long, so if there's anything else you might want to see just let me know. We've got a ways to go before we make it to September and some answers to my burning questions.


End file.
